Union Home Minister Amit Shah, today launched Vibrant Villages Programme–II (VVP–II), at a cost of Rs 6,839 crore, in Nathanpur village of Assam’s Cachar district.
On this occasion, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the Union Home Secretary and several other dignitaries were present.
In his address, Shah stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken an initiative and made an effort to provide similar facilities in all villages of the Barak Valley and the border districts of Assam, like other villages across India, through the Vibrant Villages- II programme being launched today.
He said that there was a time when border villages were referred to as the “last village” of the country because they lagged behind in development, employment, electricity connectivity, and education. Shah said that under Vibrant Villages-I, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided that every village on the border is not the last but the first village of India. The Home Minister said that from today, this village in Assam will also become the first village of the country. He said that this village will not only lead in terms of development but also in areas of employment, education, roads and telecommunications.
Amit Shah said that under Vibrant Villages Programme–II, nearly Rs 6,900 crore is being spent which includes 1,954 villages across 334 blocks in 17 states, including 9 districts, 26 blocks, and 140 villages in Assam. He said that all basic facilities, similar to those available in any other village in India, will be provided to these 140 villages in Assam.
He said that the programme also includes villages in Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Shah said that a programme worth approximately Rs 7,000 crore for the development of about 2,000 villages across 334 blocks adjoining the international border is being launched from today. He said that the programme includes several schemes related to security, saturation of welfare schemes and connectivity.
Amit Shah said that previous governments ruled Assam for years but did nothing for the state’s development. He said that in the past 10 years of our government’s regime, we achieved that earlier governments could not accomplish even in 50 years. He said that over the last five years, an average of 14 kilometers of roads have been constructed per day in Assam, the highest in the country. He said that over 24,000 kilometers of roads have been upgraded, hundreds to thousands of bridges have been constructed, and four major new bridges have been dedicated to the people of Assam in the past decade by the ‘double-engine’ government.
The Union Home Minister said that when the BJP came to power in Assam, multi-dimensional poverty in the state stood at 37 percent, which has been reduced to 14 percent in 2023. He said that Assam’s per capita income, which was Rs 49,000 in 2013–14, has nearly tripled to Rs 1,54,000 in 2024–25. Shah said that this transformation has been possible due to increased self-confidence among the people, good governance, and peace in the state. He said that the government led by Himanta Biswa Sarma in Assam has also put an end to the bomb blasts and insurgency.
He said that under the leadership of Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam has emerged as the healthcare hub of the entire Northeast. He also said that a semiconductor plant worth Rs 27,000 crore is being established in the state. He added that the Modi government has allocated Rs 30,000 crore for development of roads, Rs 95,000 crore for railways, and Rs 10,000 crore for airports in Assam. He said that a lucrative industrial policy has also been brought to accelerate Assam’s growth.
The Union Home Minister said that in the coming years, Assam will be amongst the developed states of the country, and the Vibrant Villages Programme–II is a crucial component of this vision. He said that the government is committed to ensuring that every border village is developed at par with other villages in the country, there is no migration from border areas, infiltrators are prevented from entering through the borders, and a secure Assam contributes to a secure India. Shah said that the launch of Vibrant Villages Programme–II from the Barak Valley marks the beginning of extending development to border villages across 17 states.
